The following relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to network directed system selection for wireless devices. Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time-division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
Network directed system selection is a network capability that provides a network based mechanism for automatically directing a wireless device to a desired network or wireless communication system. In certain examples, a network servicing multiple wireless devices may become congested, which may reduce the connection quality for each of the wireless devices. To address this congestion, the network may refuse service to a requesting wireless device or discontinue service for a currently served wireless device. However, such action may result in an unacceptable user experience on certain wireless devices. For example, some wireless devices may not have access to any alternative network. Other wireless devices may run network flows that will not work on other networks due to operator policy. In some cases, it may be more expensive or require more power for a wireless device to operate on an alternative network. Thus, a need exists in the art for network directed system selection for wireless devices that preserve quality of service and user experience on the wireless devices.